Category Archives: Technology

When Nissan, Toyota, and the Japanese government team up for new technology – you know it’s going to be good.

New reports say that this stunning trio of forces will combine powers to create impeccably intelligent maps, making it easier than ever to navigate while driving – the next big step towards self-driving cars.

These standardized intelligent Nissan maps will have data from both automakers and the government, making them as complete as absolutely possible. Plus, it’s likely that the maps will continue to generate data based on drivers.

When it comes to self-driving cars, it makes sense that one of the most important tech aspects is map design, telling the vehicles where to go, when, and why. We’re glad to see that Nissan is on top of it.

The automakers didn’t comment on the subject, so we don’t have a timeline indicating when the technology will be available. But in combination with the government of Japan, it’s safe to say that it won’t take these innovators long.

To learn more about all the technology Nissan has made available, visit us anytime at Bates Nissan.

The best-selling Nissan in the United States is the mid-size Altima sedan, and now it is all-new. Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn, recently unveiled the redesigned 2016 Altima in New York City.

“Altima has experienced five consecutive years of sales growth, the only vehicle in the mid-size sedan segment to do so, with sales growing more than 60 percent since the start of the economic recovery in 2009,” said Ghosn, in a statement. “With this new, redesigned 2016 Altima, we expect to be more competitive in the marketplace.”

The updated Altima features a new exterior and interior design, new technology and connectivity features, a new SR sports model, new active safety features, and better highway fuel efficiency at 39 mpg.

The new available safety feature is called Predictive Forward Collision Warning. This advanced technology is able to see two cars ahead of you and can warn the driver when a vehicle slows down suddenly, even when the driver can’t see it for themselves.

The new 2016 Nissan Altima will be coming to Bates Nissan in November.

Nissan announced in June that it has a plan for reusing Nissan Leaf batteries. After years of research into ways to reuse car batteries that no longer have the juice to power a car, Nissan is one of the first manufacturers, along with General Motors, to designate old EV batteries as backup batteries for buildings.

Nissan has partnered with the company Green Charge Networks, which provides and installs batteries for customers. Receiving old Leaf batteries from Nissan will reduce GCN’s costs, as they will have to produce fewer batteries. This partnership isn’t a surprise, as Nissan teamed up with Sumitomo to research how to reuse EV batteries shortly after releasing the first Leaf.

Powering a car is a big job, and when a battery is no longer strong enough to do it, it still has plenty of juice for lighter-duty work. Storing energy in commercial and industrial buildings doesn’t have anywhere near the energy output of driving a car, making these EV batteries a perfect choice for the job.

If you’ve ever done research before buying a car, you may have wondered: What is a transmission? The key to understanding its definition is in the name. It’s a mechanism that transmits power from your car’s engine to the parts that make it move forward, turning energy into torque using gears and a clutch.

There are two types of transmissions: manual and automatic. Most people know that manual transmissions require you to shift the gears yourself, while automatic transmissions shift themselves. With manual transmissions, the gears are various sizes, and you speed up or slow down by manually engaging these gears using the clutch and gear shift. It’s easier to understand in terms of the gears on a bicycle, where certain gear sizes are better for different terrains, slopes, and speeds.

In an automatic transmission, the process is mostly the same, except that the transmission engages other gears automatically when you change speeds, and most automatic transmissions don’t have a clutch. Instead, they have a torque converter, which outputs the necessary amount of torque for the speed of the vehicle.

There is also Nissan’s XRONIC Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), available in many new Nissan cars, which you can learn more about here.

This is only a small look into how transmissions work, but we hope it’s useful to you!

The all-new 2016 Nissan Maxima SR was recently put to the test as it completed laps around the track at Buttonwillow Raceway. It was up against some stiff competition in the 2015 Acura TLX 3.5 with Technology Package, 2015 BMW 328i, and Audi A4 2.0T quattro Premium Plus Tiptronic. The Maxima more than held its own, though, posting the best lap time out of them. Check out the Nissan Maxima performance times below.

Vehicle

Time

Margin (seconds)

Maxima SR

1:18.50

—

BMW 328i

1:19.48

.98

Acura TLX 3.5L

1:20.58

2.08

Audi A4 2.0T Quattro

1:21.21

2.71

Nissan has been positioning the 2016 Maxima as the “4-Door Sports Car” and it’s most certainly living up the name!

Pierre Loing, vice president of Product Planning at Nissan, said, “We expected the all-new 2016 Maxima, with its re-engineered engine, transmission and chassis to do well, but frankly even we were surprised by the head-to-head test results against some very well-established luxury sports sedans.”

The Nissan Murano was recently named a 2015 Top Safety Pick Plus by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Murano scored “Good” ratings in all five of the IIHS safety tests, earning it the highest honor a vehicle can receive.

Fred Diaz, senior vice president of Sales & Marketing and Parts & Service for Nissan, said, “This Murano has once again raised the bar for Midsize Crossovers in terms of modern styling, levels of interior refinement, luxury and technology in its class. At Nissan we are happy to the IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus rating to the list.”

Being awarded a Top Safety Pick Plus rating doesn’t come easily either. IIHS raised their standards for the tests two years ago, requiring vehicles to earn “advanced” or “superior” ratings in the front crash prevention tests, which the Murano did.

If you’re interested in testing out one of the most stylish and safest vehicles on the road, come visit us at Bates Nissan and take a ride in the all-new Murano.

The all-new NissanConnect℠ Services program is powered by SiriusXM® and promises to keep drivers more connected, engaged, and aware than ever before. NissanConnect Services will provide users with unprecedented access to their vehicles and the outside world, including vehicle monitoring, security and remote access.

According to a recent news release, three levels of services will be available when the system debuts on the 2016 Maxima later this year. The basic level is NissanConnect Services, which will include emergency services such as the Stolen Vehicle Locator and Automatic Collision Notification, along with maintenance alerts, like Dealer Service Scheduling Reminders and In-Vehicle Messaging.

A the next level (NissanConnect Services Premium), users will benefit from everything included in the base package plus remote services such as Remote Start and Remote Door Lock/Unlock along with monitoring alerts like Curfew Alert and Valet Alert.

The highest level of services offered is the NissanConnect Services Premium Plus program, which adds a full-suite of concierge services, including Connected Search, Assisted Search, and Journey Planner.

Nissan says that the NissanConnect Services program will also be available on four other models later this year, but has not yet revealed which models, or when.

Look for the exciting 2016 Nissan Altima to make its way to Bates Nissan later this year.

It seems like prices are raised every year on everything from a gallon of milk to our favorite sports cars. But we come bearing good news. The 2016 Nissan 370Z pricing has officially been released and will remain the exact same across the lineup as the previous model year.

In total, there are eight 370Z Coupe models, four 370Z NISMO models, and five 370Z Roadster models that will be available for customers.

The starting Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the manual transmission Coupe model will be $29,990 and the NISMO model’s MSRP will start at $41,990. The Roadster’s starting MSRP will be $41,820.

The 370Z has been one of the most iconic models in Nissan’s lineup and offers drivers outstanding power and performance as well as a beautiful, sleek design and years of automotive history excellence.

For a full breakdown of pricing information about each of the 370Z models, click here. If you want more information about the cars, or would like to schedule a test-drive, come visit us at Bates Nissan today.

Nissan production is healthier than ever right now—and, in fact, the brand’s Mexican assembly plant in Aguascalientes recently hit a production milestone of 200,000 vehicles. The A2 manufacturing complex recently shipped a Nissan Sentra SR to Chicago—the 200,000th vehicle to roll off the line. There’s actually two plants in the complex, and each of them can produce a Sentra in under a minute.

With that sort of efficiency and production, it’s no wonder that the Aguascalientes plant posts such impressive numbers now. It’s also a subset of Nissan’s overall production health right now. “Nissan Mexicana is considered the benchmark for the brand in the world,” Airton Cousseau, head of Nissan’s Mexican operations, said. “It’s No. 1 in production [in Mexico] and the first in exports, more than in Japan.”

In fact, the brand hopes to make up to 1 million vehicles per year in Mexico once 2017 rolls around. Fortunately, much of that production feeds into the American market, so come see us at Bates Nissan today to learn more about all these great vehicles!

For many consumers, one of the biggest problems holding them back from purchasing an electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is having to find a charging station away from the home.

One solution to this issue is vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems, which is a feature that allows electric cars to work with a power grid to send electricity from the power lines to the car, and back, if desired.

According to a recent statement, Nissan is teaming up with Endesa in Madrid, Spain to develop the first ever “mass market” V2G system, which could absolutely change the future of electric vehicles.

Their plan is for electric car owners to be able to use the V2G system during low-demand charge periods, when costs are lower, and also to be able to store that cheaper charge for another time.

It’s no surprise that Nissan, who leads the automotive industry in electric vehicles, is championing this pursuit. What do you think about the Nissan V2G system? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.